Obamacare Repeal Requires Replacement After 2016 Election
Republicans had spent eight years trashing the Democratic health care overhaul, but now that they were in power, they ran up against the same political winds that forced ObamaCare tolook like such a political Frankenstein’s monster to begin with. Conservatives wanted a complete and total repeal of the law; moderative Republicans wanted to protect certain pieces of it.
Mitt Romney On Immigration
Republican Mitt Romney stands by the value that immigration is a useful thing, when done legally. I am a great proponent of legal immigration Many of you are living proof of the unique strength of America that is constantly renewed by new Americans. The promise of America has brought some of the worlds best and brightest to our shores. Romney believes that state and federal forces should work together to enforce immigration laws, allowing the entire process to flow more smoothly. He adamantly believes in an employment verification system, and in stricter border patrols, and as governor he vetoed the approval of illegal immigrants for in-state tuition rates, showing his disapproval of any amnesty-type action in relation to illegal immigrants. It has been speculated by many that Romneys, and the Republican Partys as a whole, view of a strictly no-amnesty policy harmed him greatly in the 2012 election. Considering that President Obama carried 71 percent of the Hispanic vote in said election, this is probably correct.
More Choices And Lower Costs Without Obamacare
Obamacare is making things worse by the day. It drives up premiums and deductible costs for individuals, families, and businesses. It forces people off the plans they like. It fuels waste, fraud, and abuse. And it cannot be fixed. Its knot of regulations, taxes, and mandates cannot be untangled. Obamacare must be fully repealed so we can start over and take anew approach. This isn’t a return to the pre-Obamacare status quo. And it isn’t just an attempt to replace Obamacare and leave it at that. This is a new approach. It’s a step-by-step plan to give every American access to quality, affordable health care. Our plan recognizes that people deserve more patient-centered care, not more bureaucracy. That means more choices, not more mandates. You should have the freedom and the flexibility to choose the care that’s best for you. Insurers should compete for your business, and treat you fairly–no matter what. You and your family should have access to the best lifesaving treatments in the world. And as you get older, Medicare should give you more choices too. At every step, you should be in the driver’s seat. This is a better way.
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Other Republican Voters Are Stuck On Who Really Deserves Health Care
These few are still, for now, the exception in the Republican Party. Two other strands persisted across our conversations with 16 Trump voters: A strict constitutional view says health care is not a right and then there is the question of who actually deserves health care.
Well, you have a right for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, Dave, a 62-year-old engineer, said. Where in the Constitution does it say you have a right to free food, free services, or free health care?
Charlie, a 42-year-old who said he was very conservative, agreed: It’s not in the Constitution. Nowhere in there does it say, I guarantee you can go see the doctor.
There were the expected objections to the federal government running any kind of universal health care program: Its socialism. The federal government meddles too much already. People want to have choices in their health care. Theyve heard horror stories about long waits in other countries. Theyre worried their taxes will go up to pay for this new health care program.
Throughout the discussion, particularly as the question of costs came up, these Trump voters returned to the same concern, which presents perhaps the most fundamental challenge to health care as a human right: Does everybody really deserve health care?
Some of these folks didnt sound convinced.
It permeated the questions they had about a single-payer program.
Whats Dividing Republicans And Democrats On Healthcare Reform
Since the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, Republicans have been determined to destroy it while Democrats insist its the countrys best chance at reforming healthcare to make it affordable and accessible. Both parties want reform, but the approach has been fundamentally different and for good reason. There are basic, core reasons why conservatives and liberals cant get on the same page when it comes to healthcare reform.;Lets take a moment to dig into the details and figure out what is exactly keeping Republicans and Democrats from being able to find a middle ground on healthcare reform, so far.
Democrats want the federal government to legislate and administer healthcare while Republicans want private industry to helm the healthcare system with as minimal input from the federal government as possible.
Of course, there are always exceptions within each party because people arent one-dimensional. Moderates on both sides, for instance, would seek compromise wherever possible. But in general, these core ideological differences make healthcare reform particularly challenging, especially when one party holds more power. In 2010, Democrats passed the ACA without a single rightwing vote.
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Hsas & Hras To Replace Obamacare
- Allow spouses to make catch-up contributions to the same HSA account;
- Allow qualified medical expenses incurred before HSA-qualified coverage begins to be reimbursed from an HSA account as long as the account is established within 60 days;
- Set themaximum contribution to an HSA at the maximum combined and allowed annual deductible and out-of-pocket expense limits; and
- Expand accessibility for HSAs to certain groups, like those who get services through the Indian Health Service and TRICARE.
Why Do Republicans Oppose Obamacare
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REPUBLICANS have campaigned against Obamacare ever since it was signed into law in 2010.;
But with a change in presidency ahead, the Supreme Court is likely to leave in place the bulk of Obamacare, including;key protections for pre-existing health conditions.
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Government Is Not The Solution To Domestic Social Problems
This is pretty universal among Republicans. Government should not be providing solutions to problems that confront people . Those problems should be solved by the people themselves. A Republican would say that relying on the government to solve problems is a crutch that makes people lazy and feel entitled to receive things without working for them.
Us Elections : How Important Is Healthcare For Voters
Regardless of party affiliation, health is important to us all but just how important? As the United States presidential elections approach, we take a look at healthcare and its place among voters priorities. We also examine how voters priorities have shifted from earlier this year.
The majority of respondents prioritized healthcare over the economy as revealed by a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, for example, which found that 26% of respondents thought healthcare issues were the most important factor for electing a president. Respondents believed this regardless of their political leaning.
Other surveys found similar results at the time. Politico, in collaboration with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, found that within domestic policy, voters were most concerned about healthcare costs.
If you would like to check your registration status or register to vote, we have added some useful links at the bottom of this article.
In the survey, 80% of respondents expected the president and congress to take steps to lower the cost of healthcare, while 75% wanted them to reduce prescription drug costs, regardless of their voting intentions.
So what are American voters priorities now, ahead of the upcoming presidential election? The latest KFF health tracking poll for asks exactly this, and in this Special Feature, we summarize its key findings.
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Doubling Down Again On Health Savings Accounts
Bolstering health savings accounts has been a very popular reform idea among Republicans, and that enthusiasm is clear in the RSC plan.
The plan proposes to increase how much an employee can contribute to a health savings account. Currently, an individual can contribute $3,500 and a family can contribute $7,000.
RELATED: Premiums on benchmark HealthCare.gov plans decline 4% for 2020: CMS;
A 2018 bill that passed out of the House but didnt make it through Congress increased the contribution cap to $6,650 for an individual and $13,300 for a family.
Now, the RSC plan wants to increase the figures again, this time to $9,000 per individual and $18,000 for families, in line with a proposal from libertarian think tank Cato Institute.
The RSC plan would also expand health savings accounts so that they could be used for a number of health services and products that currently must be paid for with after-tax dollars, the plan said.
Nbc News/commonwealth Fund Health Care Poll
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Three in 10 likely voters are worried about being able to afford health insurance and costs for prescription drugs and other health care over the next year; among most worried are Democrats, blacks, Hispanics, and people earning under $50,000
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Nearly 80 percent of likely voters believe reducing health care costs should be a high priority for the next president
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Three in 10 likely voters are worried about being able to afford health insurance and costs for prescription drugs and other health care over the next year; among most worried are Democrats, blacks, Hispanics, and people earning under $50,000
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Nearly 80 percent of likely voters believe reducing health care costs should be a high priority for the next president
In next weeks Super Tuesday primaries, voters in 14 states and American Samoa will cast their ballots for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. Health care has emerged as one of the top issues in the 2020 election, at times dominating the Democratic presidential debates.
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Mitt Romney On Health Care
Republican Mitt Romney agrees with the principle that having all citizens insured would benefit the country as a whole, but points out that a government mandate is not the most efficient way to do this. During his time as governor of Massachusetts, Romney created a health insurance program that was incredibly successful, and that he believes could be a good model for national reform. Those who opposed the reform made claims that the reform created uncontrollable costs within Massachusetts, but the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, a non-partisan group, has since deemed these claims a myth. The Foundations report stated that the cost to taxpayers of achieving near universal coverage has been relatively modest and well within initial projections of how much the state would have to spend to implement reform, in part because many of the newly insured have enrolled in employer-sponsored plans at no public expense. In terms of national health care reform, Romney argues that the government should center reforms at the state level. Open the door to state plans designed to meet the various needs of their citizens. Before imposing a one-size-fits-all federal program, let the states serve as the laboratories of democracy. Romney also supports a utilization of innovations such as electronic medical records to streamline record keeping and make it more efficient to reduce costs.
Republican Health Care Results
Repealed Obamacares Medical Device Tax: The 2.3% excise tax on the sales of medical devices Democrats included in Obamacare harmed medical product innovation and job growth for the few years it was in place. Congress previously delayed the tax and successfully repealedit last year.
Repealed Obamacares Cadillac Tax: Last December, Congress also repealed Obamacares Cadillac tax, an excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored plans. The tax limited an employers ability to offer generous benefits to recruit workers. Repealing this tax supports the employer-sponsored coverage that millions of Americans rely on.
Repealed Obamacares Health Insurance Tax: The health insurance tax included in Obamacare raised premiums for seniors and consumers in the commercial market. Repealing this tax will lower premiums for Americans starting next year and will allow employers to determine which health care plans fit the needs of their workers.
Zeroed Out the Individual Mandate: Effective in 2019, Congress reducedObamacares individual mandate tax penalty to $0. The mandate required every American to purchase Washington-approved health insurance or pay a fine. Americans can once again make their own decisions about what kind of coverage is right for them and their family.
Congress raisedthe minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21. The law also applies to electronic cigarettes and vaping products, to keep these tobacco products away from children.;
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Republicans On The Affordable Care Act
In the 2012 Republican Part Platform, Republicans spoke out against the Affordable Care Act, stating that the Democrats used it more as an assertion of power than they used it to improve health care conditions in this country, and in doing so they detrimentally damaged the health of this nation. The Republican Party views the requirement for United States citizens to purchase health insurance as an attack on the Constitution. They believe that the financial burden it would bring upon the country, and specifically on individual states, through the expansion of Medicaid is unsustainable, and will harm the nation as a whole. The act was so firmly opposed by the Republican Party that not a single Republican voted for the final version that Obama signed into law.
Isan Gaps In Views Of Other Healthcare Aspects Also Grow
Both major party groups are generally positive about their healthcare coverage and quality, but Republicans are more so.
Currently, 81% of Republicans, up from 76% a year ago, say their healthcare coverage is either excellent or good. Democrats’ opinions about their coverage are largely unchanged — 69%, compared with 71% last year, rate it positively.
Also, 86% of Republicans versus 78% of Democrats say the quality of their healthcare is excellent or good. The Democratic figure is down four percentage points from a year ago.
The partisan differences are even greater when isolating those who rate their coverage or quality as “excellent.” Forty-three percent of Republicans, versus 23% of Democrats, give their coverage this highest rating. Likewise, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to rate the quality of the healthcare they receive as excellent .
Americans overall have rated both aspects of their healthcare very positively over the past 19 years, with only modest variation.
The 71% who rate their coverage positively is one point below the trend’s record high from 2011, but the percentage has dropped only as low as 63%. Ratings of healthcare quality have ranged from 76% to 83% since 2001.
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Survey: Democrats Republicans Fracture On Financing Nations Healthcare Needs
We want to help you make educated healthcare decisions. While this post may have links to lead generation forms, this wont influence our writing. We adhere to strict editorial standards to provide the most accurate and unbiased information.
- 62% of Democrats but just 25% of Republicans think Americans should be required to have health insurance.
- 62% of Democrats somewhat or strongly oppose striking down the Affordable Care Act, compared to 15% of Republicans.
- 65% of Democrats said insurers should cover preexisting conditions, even if it leads to higher costs, compared to 46% of Republicans.;
- 34% of Republicans dont plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 10% of Democrats.
With the Affordable Care Act under threat in the Supreme Court and COVID-19 raging nationwide, a new survey shows Americans starkly divided on how to pay for the nations healthcare needs.
Asked if Americans should be required to have health insurance as they must with auto insurance, 43% of respondents nationwide answered yes, 37% no, and 20% said they dont know.
But Democrats and Republicans broke sharply on the question.;
62% of self-identified Democrats said Americans should be required to have health insurance whether they pay for it themselves or get help.
That compares to just 25% of Republicans.
Meanwhile, 41% of independents said Americans should be required to have health insurance, closely tracking the national figure.
The Supreme Court will decide the case next year.
Healthcare No Longer Top Priority For Voters
Unlike in February, the KFF poll reveals that healthcare is no longer a top priority for voters. Instead, 32% of registered voters placed the economy at the top of their list, saying it is the most important factor in their decision for a president.
However, the COVID-19 outbreak, which is intimately related to healthcare, took the second spot, with 20% of registered voters saying it was the most important issue for them. Therefore, respondents rank the current pandemic as the second most important issue after the economy.
Furthermore, criminal justice and policing came third, with 16% of the respondents placing it at the top of their list, while race relations took fourth place among Americans priorities, with 14% of voters ranking it as their main criterion for choosing a president.
Overall, there has been a major shift in the issues that Americans prioritize in the run-up to this election.
Since February, the percentage of voters who placed healthcare at the top of their list dropped by 16 points, while healthcare dropped to the fifth spot in U.S. adults list of top issues, not counting the coronavirus outbreak as part of healthcare.
But the latest KFF poll finds voters priorities have shifted during the last 6 months with the coronavirus outbreak, the closing of businesses due to the spread of the virus and subsequent recession, the police shootings of unarmed Black Americans, and violence occurring around protests.
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